Embrace the Darkness (Darkness Series) by Lilly Gayle Page B

until she dropped down onto the sofa and curled her feet under her bottom.
    With a resigned sigh, he sat beside her, angling his body toward hers. “I came here tonight to ask for your help. I shouldn’t have. Tina died because of her association with vampires. I don’t want the same thing happening to you.”
    “Don’t worry about it. It’s my job to investigate crimes and search for the truth—even if the evidence points to vampires,” she added with a reticent smile.
    Her fear was obvious, but Gerard sensed she wouldn’t let it prevent her from doing her job. Backing down didn’t seem part of her nature.
    “You could be in real danger—danger you can’t handle with that gun of yours.”
    “I’m a big girl,” she said, trying to sound tough. Gerard smelled her fear as keenly as he smelled the clean, floral scent of her shampoo.
    The woman was too damn stubborn for her own good.
    Frustration tightened his jaw. “Night before last, a vampire was outside your door. It could happen again when I’m not here to protect you.”
    “I can protect myself,” she said with determination. “Besides, I thought you said Nicolas was watching over me. If that’s not the case, then why was he here? What kind of threat does he pose?”
    Aside from taking her blood? Gerard wasn’t sure. But the vampire he’d sensed didn’t seem as interested in Amber as in checking out Gerard. Not that Gerard had seen him or gotten a good whiff of his scent. It was just a mental impression from the faint imprint the vampire had left behind.
    Amber had survived a vampire attack before. If Nicolas was still keeping tabs on her, he might have watched outside her door to ensure Gerard wasn’t a threat. Then again, Gerard had no way of knowing it was Nicolas.
    “I said I thought you were his descendent,” he said, closely watching her reactions. “You’re the one who said his name was Nicolas. I never saw him. For all I know, the vampire who attacked you in Germany found out you were investigating our kind and came back to finish the job.”
    Fear flashed behind her eyes. She quickly masked it and stiffened her spine. “Seems I’m in danger whether I work with you or not. So, I guess I have to work with you. It's not like I can share this information with my partner.”
    Excluding her partner obviously bothered her. And for some reason, that bothered Gerard.
    “Don’t do me any favors,” he grumbled. “Tina kept me at arm’s length but at least she trusted me.” And damn it, he wanted Amber’s trust too.
    He could have manipulated her thoughts the way Vincent manipulated her partner’s. One mental push had convinced Detective Sheridan to leave Megan alone. That shit probably wouldn’t work on Amber—at least not for long. She’d had her thoughts scrambled before. The memories were returning, but Amber was fighting them—just as she’d fought Gerard when he invaded her mind to look for evidence.
    She looked thoughtful and just a bit suspicious. “If Tina trusted you, why would she avoid you? Was she afraid of you because you’re a vampire?”
    “No,” he grumbled. “She was afraid for her child.”
    A flush stained Amber’s cheeks, but her apparent embarrassment didn’t stop her from slipping into detective mode. “Then why did she go to work for vampires? Why get involved if she feared for her daughter?”
    Silence stretched between them as Gerard considered the best way to answer. He wanted to be honest, but truth was subjective and open for interpretation. Anything he said in defense of vampires could be twisted and used against him.
    It was as if he were back in France, pretending allegiance to the Jacobins, knowing one misspoken word could send him to the guillotine.
    “Tina knew about Weldon’s vampire research,” he said at last. “When she left Baldwin Industries, he smeared her professional reputation to prevent her from telling anyone who might have otherwise believed her. Colonel Timmons was still a